Boys Will Be Boys
by JudyL068
Summary: Jim and Blair run into a little trouble and Simon ends up baby sitting.


Boys will be boys

By JudyL

July 23, 2005

This is a May 2005 themefic for the Sentinel Angst list. The challenge was from MagPie and is as follows:

I want kiddie-fics. Jim and/or Blair as kids, Jim and Blair with kids or, (and I know this has been done before, but I still like it) let's whack them over the head and they regress to their child-personality.

Well, I'd been toying around with this idea for a while, but needed some inspiration and this challenge gave me that.

No warnings that I can think of. Maybe a little language.

Simon angst G.

Disclaimers: They don't belong to me, but I don't let that stop me.

Feedback is always appreciated.

* * *

><p>"Stay behind me," Jim Ellison warned his partner as he slipped in the side door to the warehouse.<p>

"Stuck like glue, man," Blair Sandburg whispered back, shadowing the larger man like, well, a shadow.

They had followed a known drug dealer to this warehouse and seen him enter. After determining that the dealer's supplier was inside and that the side door was open, Jim, or rather, Blair had called for backup. Then, to make sure the property was secure, because the door should have been locked at this time of night, er morning, they headed in.

Simon had been particularly pleased to get their call. Not because it was two in the morning, but because this particular drug lord was manufacturing a new blend of joy for the kids of Cascade. The drug, aptly called "Happy," was a mixture of things, that so far hadn't killed anyone, but the powers that be wanted the stuff off the streets.

The problem with Happy was that the ingredients were common chemicals, all legally sold over the counter and thus difficult to trace to the source. Tonight, Jim and Blair had caught a break.

They hid behind several large plastic barrels as Jim focused on the conversation across the warehouse.

"What do you hear, Jim?" Blair asked, barely above a whisper.

"Shhh," Jim replied with a slight shake of his head.

Sandburg sighed and contented himself with a peek around his barrel. He could see the man they'd followed and one other. He thought there might be a third person over there too, out of his line of sight.

Suddenly Jim flinched and covered his ears. Blair grabbed his arm. "Dial it down," he whispered.

Another man came running into the warehouse. "Cops!" he shouted. "I hear sirens."

Blair lifted his head to see the dealers scrambling to pack up and head out. Jim shook his head to clear it and caught a piece of Sandburg's jacket in his hand.

"Let's get out of here, Chief, before they spot us," he said, squinting against the pain of the spike. Blair nodded and the two men started to make their way back to the exit.

From out of nowhere, over a dozen people suddenly appeared to help load and move the product out of the warehouse.

Jim dragged Blair back behind a crate just in time to miss being seen by one of the new players.

"Geez, Jim," Blair whispered, "where'd they all come from?"

"I don't know," Jim said grimly, trying to find a clear way out. He looked up sharply, just in time to see a barrel tip over. He lunged for Blair, but it was too late, they both were drenched by the liquid that poured over the side. "Run," Jim shouted.

"Hey! There's someone in here!" "Cops!" "Stop them!" and "Get outta here!" were only some of the shouts that echoed around the warehouse as Jim and Blair raced for their exit. Unfortunately the chemical they had been soaked with was very slippery and they had a hard time keeping to their feet. They were also hindered by the continued efforts of the guys on the floor above who opened and dumped barrel after barrel, aiming for the Sentinel and his Guide.

Just as quickly, the place was swarming with backup. The bad guys were corralled and Simon Banks headed for the pair and some answers. Blair pushed past Simon dragging Jim with him.

"Where are you going Sandburg?" Simon growled as he followed his two men outside.

"I thought I saw a water hose out here earlier," Blair replied distractedly, as he led an already wobbly Jim to the side of the warehouse. "I've got to get this stuff off him," he muttered.

Sure enough there was a hose around the corner. Blair turned on the faucet and started to rinse the chemicals off his Sentinel.

"That's ccccold, Ch...ch…chief," Jim stammered.

"I know, man," Blair replied, "but we've got to get this crap off you. Who knows what the hell it'll do to you." He turned Jim around and continued to let the water run over the older man's head and shoulders. "Simon, could you grab the bag from the truck. It's got a spare set of clothes in it. I need to get all the chemicals away from Jim and his clothes are saturated with this stuff."

"Sure," Simon muttered under his breath as he turned to jog toward the pickup truck. "Now I'm a valet too," but he knew better than to argue with Sandburg when it came to Jim's safety and the disgruntlement was just for show. He returned only minutes later to a slightly different scene.

"Jim," Blair whined, "gimme the hose, man."

Ellison chuckled. "Nuh uh. If I gotta get rinsed off, so do you, Chief," he said with an evil grin as he played the water over Sandburg's head, just as Blair had done to him.

Sandburg glowered at his partner, but stood still as Simon approached the pair. Then with a quick move Blair poked Jim in the ribs with his finger and wrested the hose back from the Sentinel. Blair quickly turned the spray toward Jim with a gleeful laugh.

Jim growled and tried to approach, but every move was met with more water.

Banks sighed. "If you two will quit acting like six year olds," he grumbled, "I've got the spare clothes you asked for, Sandburg."

Blair turned his head toward Simon and grinned wickedly.

Simon glared. "Don't even think…" he spluttered, unable to finish his sentence as the water hit him in the face. "Sandburg!" Banks bellowed.

Blair straightened to a perfect military attention pose, spoiled only by the flowing water hose he held in one hand. "Yes, Sir!" he snapped off with a brisk salute, unfortunately with the hand holding the hose. Water splashed over his face causing the younger man to splutter indignantly.

Ellison stifled a giggle.

Joel Taggert walked up at that moment. "Need a hand Simon?"

Simon sighed. "Yeah, help me get these two into the ambulance would you? I think they've been exposed to Happy."

Joel's eyes widened fearfully as he looked at Jim and Blair. They were leaning on each other chuckling madly. He could make out intermittent words as the two men parodied the previous conversation.

"Sandburg!" Blair shouted suddenly, sounding a lot like Simon.

"Yes, Sir!" Jim snapped to attention with a smart salute. They both then crumbled into snorts of laughter.

Simon shook his head. "You take Sandburg, I'll get Ellison."

**Cascade General Hospital**

Simon strolled down the corridor looking for Joel. He'd had to stay at the scene and had sent the other captain to keep an eye on Ellison and Sandburg. Banks finally spotted his friend and nodded as he caught Joel's eye.

"How are they?"

Joel stood. "According to Doctor Toren, they're fine at the moment. They're definitely suffering from exposure to something. I called Serena, her team is supposed to get samples and bring them in for the doctor to analyze. He wants to keep them here at least over night for observation."

"Have you seen them yet?" Simon asked.

"No," Joel replied. "Toren said they'd let me know when Jim and Blair were set up in a room. He was still waiting for the results of their blood tests when he updated me last."

Simon nodded. "Want some coffee?"

"Sure," Joel said.

"I'll be right back."

About thirty minutes later the doctor approached the captains. "Captain Banks, Captain Taggert," he said cordially. "We've gotten Detective Ellison and Mr. Sandburg cleaned up and situated in a room for the night. Your people have sent over quite a number of samples. Were they really exposed to all of them?" Dr. Toren asked concerned.

Simon shrugged. "When we got there, Sandburg was trying to get Jim to the hose to rinse off. They were both already soaked. Inside the warehouse," he stopped and shook his head, "there were over a dozen barrels dumped over, empty. Hazmat shooed us all out as soon as they got there."

The doctor nodded. "Well, our lab is working on it, as well as your Ms. Chang. Once we have an analysis back, we'll have a better idea of possible side effects, but I'll tell you now, I don't think I've ever heard of such a mix before."

"We're pretty sure they were manufacturing a drug called Happy," Joel supplied.

"I'm familiar with that one," Toren grimaced. "As far as I know there haven't been any serious side effects reported, yet. But we're talking about an unprecedented amount of exposure as well as Ellison's known sensitivity to certain drugs." He sighed. "I'm concerned about Sandburg's response too."

"When will we know something?" Simon asked somberly.

"We're going to keep a close eye on them tonight and see how they're doing in the morning. I won't release them if they are still showing signs of intoxication."

"Intoxication?" Joel asked.

Dr. Toren smiled wearily. "They were acting like two very happy drunks when they got here. The paramedics said they had to threaten to tie them down to keep your men from 'investigating' the back of the ambulance." He snorted. "I heard one of the nurses say they were worse than children."

Simon shared a grin with Joel. "And that's when they're sober, doctor," Banks chuckled.

"Well," the doctor drawled, "I hope all they come away with is a hangover. But we'll have to wait and see. If you want to see them, they're in room 202. Then I suggest you two go home and get a few hours sleep before the sun comes up. We'll notify you if anything changes."

"Thank you, doctor," Simon said as the man walked away. "Come on, Joel, let's go make sure they're tucked in then go home and get some shut eye."

Taggert nodded and followed his friend to the elevator.

They peeked into room 202, unsure of what they would find. They found Ellison and Sandburg sound asleep, in side by side beds, snoring loud enough to wake the dead.

The captains grinned fondly and quietly closed the door as they left the room.

**10am the next morning**

"Good morning, Captain," Dr. Toren greeted as he approached.

"Don't you ever go home?" Simon teased.

"Home?" Toren asked with a frown. "I remember that word, from school I think." He grinned. "I was just going to check on your men before I leave."

"How are they?" Simon asked, serious once again.

"The last report said they were still asleep." He lifted the file he was carrying. "Blood tests show minimal traces of various chemicals still in their systems." Toren shrugged. "Not surprising considering the dousing they took. None of the chemicals is toxic at those levels individually," he clarified. "But as I said, I've never seen quite this mix before."

"So what now?" Simon asked, resigned to the fact that nothing could ever be easy for Cascade's Sentinel and Guide.

"Why don't we go see if they're awake?" the doctor suggested.

**Room 202**

Blair sat up in the bed and looked around as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. He didn't recognize where he was, but it kind of looked like a hospital or hotel room. He saw that he had a roommate who was watching him with pale blue eyes. Blair pushed his hair back from his face and smiled. "Hi, who are you?" he asked.

"Jimmy. Who are you?"

"My name's Blair," he replied.

"That's a girl's name," Jimmy sneered.

"Is not," Blair frowned.

"Is too," Jimmy argued.

"Not," Blair insisted as he jumped down off his bed.

"Too," Jimmy grinned down at the glaring, dark blue eyes.

"Take it back," Blair demanded.

"Won't, cause it is a girl's name," Jimmy said shaking his head.

Blair bounced up onto Jimmy's bed and pushed ineffectually at the bigger guy's chest. "Take it back."

Jimmy grinned. "Nope."

"You're askin' for it," Blair threatened.

"I won't, I won't, I won't," Jimmy chanted.

Blair lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers. "This is your last chance, Crew cut."

"Crew cut?" Jimmy scoffed. "I wouldn't be talking if I were you, Goldilocks," he said flicking a lock of Blair's hair with his finger.

"Oooo," Blair growled launching himself at Jimmy and attacking his ribs with quick, feathery tickles.

Jimmy squirmed and tried to get away, but Blair pushed him onto his back as Jimmy laughed uncontrollably. Blair straddled the older boy and continued to tickle his ribs.

"Take it back," Blair said again.

"Okay, okay," Jimmy gasped. "Stop. It's not a girl's name."

Blair withdrew his fingers from Jimmy's ribs, grinning in triumph.

"It's a very weird boy's name," Jimmy added with a smile.

"That's better," Blair grinned back.

"What the hell?" a deep, commanding voice shouted from the doorway.

Jimmy pushed Blair off him, slid to the floor and stood at attention. "Sorry, sir," he said softly, gazing at the floor.

Blair sat up from where he'd tumbled onto the mattress. "We didn't do nothin' wrong," he said, lifting big, blue, puppy dog eyes to meet the confused gaze of the big, black man in the doorway. "We were just playing."

Another man in a white coat pushed his way into the room. His eyes narrowed briefly then he smiled. "My name is Dr. Toren. Can you tell me your names?"

"I'm Blair and this is Jimmy. Is my Mom gonna be here soon?" Blair asked bouncing up to sit on his knees on the bed.

"Your Mom?" Simon squeaked.

Blair nodded. "Naomi Sandburg is her name. I know she'll be looking for me. I wasn't s'posed to leave the library alone." He stopped bouncing, a worried look on his face. "Hope she won't be mad at me," he whispered.

Jimmy turned around and patted Blair awkwardly on the knee. "She won't be, Blair. Something must have happened to you and you were brought here for the doctor to check you out." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Isn't that right sir?" he asked politely.

"That's right, Jimmy," Dr. Toren replied. "Do you remember what happened to you, son?"

Jimmy frowned and shook his head. "No sir. Is my father coming?"

Dr. Toren shared a look with Captain Banks who shook his head infinitesimally. "We're still trying to contact your parents. For now, you will be staying here." He moved in closer to the two men. "Why don't you hop up on the bed and let me take a quick look at you then we'll see about getting you both something to eat."

Blair scooted over a bit and Jimmy boosted himself up onto the bed beside his new friend. Dr. Toren did a quick physical on each of them asking questions as he worked.

"So Jimmy, how old are you?"

"Six. I'll be seven in June."

"Wow," Toren said. "That's pretty grown up."

"I'm six too," Blair said. He noticed the big black man's frown and lifted his chin. "I am. Naomi gave me a big party last year. All my friends came. The cake had six candles and I blew them all out. And I got what I wished for too," he concluded with a decisive nod.

"What did you wish for?" Jimmy asked in a hushed voice.

Blair ducked his head. "A bicycle," he mumbled. "But we had to leave it when we moved." He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand then looked up defiantly. "Naomi said I'd get another one though once we got to our new home."

"You can use my old bike," Jimmy offered. "Stevie can't ride it yet anyway, he's too little."

"Thanks!" Blair smiled, kicking his feet against the edge of the bed while the doctor listened to his chest.

"Okay," Toren said finally. "You both seem pretty healthy to me." He caught the boys' eyes. "I do need to get some blood samples from you both. Will you be brave and let the nurse do that?"

Both Jimmy and Blair swallowed hard. They looked at each other then back at the doctor and nodded solemnly.

Toren grinned. "Good. After that she'll bring you something to eat. I think Nurse Jody is on duty this morning, so you stay put and she'll be right in." He turned, gathered Simon and ushered him out the door.

Simon faced the doctor. "I assume you can explain what the hell just happened in there!"

Dr. Toren sighed. "It appears we've discovered one of the side effects of their exposure."

"Well? Don't keep me in suspense, doctor. What I saw just now scared the crap out of me," Simon admitted shakily.

"I understand, Captain. All I can tell you for sure is that Jim and Blair seem to think they are six years old and seem to have no memories beyond that. Whether the condition is temporary and will dissipate when they are free of the chemicals in their systems," he shrugged, "I can't really say."

"You can't say," Simon repeated dully. "Any guesses? Come on, doc. Give me something. Those two men are my friends."

"I know, Captain. I wish I could give you a definite answer. It all depends on how the chemicals they were exposed to affected them. If it's strictly due to the levels in their bodies, we should see improvement as the chemicals are flushed out. If it's caused by some sort of permanent physical damage, worse case scenario, they don't regain any of their memories and progress from here."

Banks ran a trembling hand over his face. "How long until we know something?"

"I'd give it at least forty-eight hours, maybe as long as a week." Dr. Toren shrugged again. "It will depend on where the chemicals are stored in their bodies and how they are eliminated."

"Okay," Simon said. "What should I do for now?"

"For now, we'll go with the story that we are trying to contact their parents. They'll stay here for a few days until we see what happens." Toren patted the big captain on the back. "I'm going to get the nurse to draw those samples and get them some food. Why don't you come back later this afternoon?"

Simon nodded. "But I think first I should go in and introduce myself, don't you?"

Toren frowned then nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll talk to you later."

Simon took a deep breath as the doctor walked away. He looked at the door to 202 and sighed, taking another deep breath before going through.

Blair and Jim were still sitting on Jim's bed talking quietly. Both men stopped and turned to stare at him as Simon entered. Simon plastered what he hoped was a friendly smile on his face and moved to sit on Blair's bed across from the boys.

"Hi. I'm Captain Simon Banks. I'm with the Cascade Police Department."

Blair's eyes widened. "Are we in trouble?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

Jim nudged him with his shoulder. "We're just kids, stupid." He looked at Simon. "Is something wrong with my Mom and Dad?"

Simon shook his head. "No son. We're trying to contact them. Until we do, you both have to stay here. I just wanted to let you know that everything is going to be okay. If you need anything, tell the nurse to tell me, okay?"

Jim and Blair both nodded solemnly, looking like a pair of scared six year olds.

Banks frowned briefly then smiled. "You know, I have a son. He's a few years older than you two. His name is Daryl."

Blair's eyes lit up. "Can he come play with us?"

"Well," Simon hedged, "I'm not sure he'll be able to. We'll see. Do you want me to bring you anything to… to play with?" he said stumbling over the words.

Both boys just shrugged.

"Okay, well, you think about it," Simon said, standing to leave, "and I'll be back to check on you later."

"Bye Simon," Blair chirped.

"Good-bye Captain," Jim said quietly.

Blair turned to Jimmy once the big policeman left. "Are you sure we're not in trouble? Naomi says the pigs are always picking on people for no good reason."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "It's not polite to call them pigs. They're cops or policemen," he paused, "or officers, not pigs. Besides my Mom and Dad always told me to go to the cops if I was in trouble."

"Really?" Blair asked.

"Yep."

"Huh," Blair replied as he started to bounce on the bed. "There's nothin' to do around here."

Jimmy looked around the room and spotted the television on the wall. "We could watch TV," he suggested.

"Cool," Blair said, jumping off the bed to go turn it on. He reached up, but couldn't touch the set. He tossed a frustrated look back at Jimmy. "But how are we supposed to turn it on?"

"Maybe we can stand on a chair," Jimmy said hopping off the bed.

Together they moved one of the visitors chairs under the wall-mounted TV.

Jimmy put his hand on Blair's shoulder as the younger boy started to climb onto the chair. "Let me. I'm a little taller." He climbed up and turned on the television. "Tell me what channel to stop on," Jimmy instructed as he started flipping channels.

They finally settled on a cartoon show and lay on their stomachs, side by side on Jimmy's bed to watch. That's how the nurse found them when she came in to draw their samples.

Simon stood looking through the window into the children's ward. Jim and Blair were sitting on the floor with half a dozen kids building some huge structure out of blocks and any thing else that got in the way.

He had to grin at the sight. Jim and Blair were both wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt along with slippers that Simon had brought them from home the day before. Needless to say, he'd been a bit surprised to find a pair of fuzzy gray 'clawed' slippers in Blair's room, but not as surprised as when he found a very similar pair of black ones in Jim's room. Simon hoped he'd be able to hear the story behind the slippers soon.

"Ah," Dr. Toren said as he approached, "I see that you found them." He stopped beside Simon and looked into the ward with a smile. "They were bored in their room. I figured it couldn't hurt anything."

Simon shook his head. "The nurse told me where they were." He watched silently for a moment. "It looks like they're having fun."

Toren nodded, and then motioned for Simon to follow him. "I got the reports back from the lab." He took a seat and waited for Simon to sit as well before he continued. "As I said before, the individual chemicals they were exposed to shouldn't have had any long term affects on their systems. But I had the lab cook up a concoction that included all of the chemicals and analyze that."

Simon nodded. "What did they find?"

"Well, nothing familiar, it didn't even match the chemical makeup of Happy. However there were portions that are similar to other drugs," Toren said.

"What drugs?"

"I guess I should have said 'classes' of drugs. Some of the structure resembles hallucinogens like LSD, but it also has components that are seen in drugs like rhohypnol." Toren shook his head and sighed. "As I said, it's not like anything I've ever seen before. Our best guess is that this combination of chemicals produced a drug that left them highly susceptible to suggestion and caused this very strange form of retrograde amnesia."

"So what you're saying is that exposure to these chemicals left them open to a… what? A post-hypnotic suggestion?" Simon asked incredulously.

"Essentially," Toren replied. "Do you recall what might have been said right after they were exposed?"

Simon frowned thoughtfully and related the information softly as he recalled it. "Sandburg was already dragging Ellison outside to rinse off when I showed up. He asked me to get the bag of spare clothes out of the truck. When I got back to them," Simon's eyes widened and he met Dr. Toren's gaze. "Jim was playing keep away with the hose and drenching Blair, only Blair managed to get it back and then turned the hose on me. I made some comment about acting your age, or not acting like children…"

Dr. Toren regarded him sympathetically. "That might have been enough. Although from their behavior before you got back to them, the suggestion may have only reinforced what was already going on."

Simon leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face with both hands. "So what now? It's been almost forty-eight hours. Have they shown any signs of improvement?"

"Their blood tests are almost clean. But as you saw, their behavior is the same." Toren looked toward the children's ward. "It's rather odd, but neither of them has asked about their parents since that first time."

Simon leaned back in his chair. "Not really. Not considering how they both relate to their parents now." He sighed. "So, again, what now?"

"I'd still like to keep them for a few more days. If there isn't any improvement by then," Toren met Simon's eyes regretfully, "you may want to look into some type of long term care facility."

"What? No way," Simon said vehemently.

"Captain Banks," Toren said sadly, "we don't know for sure if they will progress from where they are now. Mentally, they may always be six years old."

"And if they do 'progress,' then how will being in a facility do them any good?" Simon argued. "They should be around family and friends who care about them."

Dr. Toren sighed. "There are too many things we don't know about what is happening to them right now. Hopefully, in a few days we'll know more and their families can make an informed decision." He stood and offered his hand. "I'll keep you up-to-date, Captain," he said as they shook hands.

"Thank you," Simon said softly. He went over to the window and leaned against the edge as he watched two of his best friends playing like they didn't have a care in the world. "What am I supposed to do, guys?" he whispered.

**Four days later**

Simon looked around at the people he considered family. Joel, Rhonda, Henri, Rafe, Megan and, of course Daryl. They had to be told if he had a chance in hell of making this work.

He cleared his throat. "I wanted to discuss what's going on with Jim and Blair."

"They aren't any better?" Joel asked, concerned.

"Physically, they're fine, Joel," Simon answered. "However, they both still think that they are only six years old."

"That's weird," Daryl whispered.

"Hmph. If you think it sounds weird, wait until you see them," he shook his head. "The doctor suggests we have them committed to a long term care facility."

"What?" H exclaimed.

"No way!" Rafe chimed in.

"That's what I said," Simon agreed. "But he does have a point. They are grown men with the mentality of children. They, especially Jim, could hurt themselves or someone else if they aren't careful. How do you explain to a six year old that they can't rough house with the other kids?" Simon paused to let that sink in. "However, there is something that Dr. Toren doesn't know that is important. If they were committed, they would most likely be separated at some point, either by family or the facility staff, and I can't allow that."

"Does this have something to do with why Blair has had the longest ride along in history?" Joel asked.

Simon nodded. "Jim is what Sandburg calls a Sentinel. All five of his senses are naturally enhanced. He can see and hear further than we can, smell and taste things that we couldn't detect and his sense of touch is also extremely sensitive. Blair acts as Jim's guide, for want of a better word. He helps ground Jim while he uses his senses and works with Jim to improve his control."

"Wow," Rhonda said. "I knew there was something special going on there, but I never would have guessed…"

"That's because you don't get to see them in the field," H said. "This Sentinel thing… that explains a lot."

"Yeah," Rafe agreed. "But why can't they be separated? I mean, it's not like Blair's always around when Jim's working."

"True," Simon supplied, "but as much as I hate to admit it, I think they are linked somehow. Jim certainly relies on Blair when he uses his senses, and I think somehow, Blair needs Jim too. I can't really explain it…" He looked at the faces around him then glanced at Megan for help. The Aussie just shrugged. Simon rolled his eyes and forged ahead. "When Jim first told me about his problem, during the Switchman case, he thought he was going crazy. Then he shows up with this neo-hippy flower child in tow and everything's hunky dory. And you've all seen how Jim gets when Sandburg's in trouble."

"And vice versa," Joel added.

Simon nodded. "I can't let them be committed. I don't know if Jim's senses are still online, but if they are… If there's even a chance that those two will be separated…" He looked around meeting each pair of eyes briefly. "I'm going to bring them home."

"Here?" Daryl squeaked.

His father nodded, watching for his son's reaction.

Daryl held his gaze for a long moment then smiled. "Cool."

Simon grinned and ruffled his son's hair then looked back at the others. "I was hoping I could depend on your support in this."

"Of course, Simon," Joel answered. The others responded similarly with nods or words.

Joel stuck around after everyone else left and Daryl had gone to bed. He watched his friend slump tiredly onto the sofa. "What are you going to do about their families, Simon? I mean, it's a noble thought wanting to keep them together, but if they don't improve…"

Simon pulled his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't think about that right now, Joel. They trusted me with this whole Sentinel thing," he met the other man's concerned brown eyes. "I've got to give them a chance to heal." He shrugged. "If the worst case scenario comes to pass… I'll, I'll deal with it then. For now, I'm just going to take one day at a time."

Simon brought Joel to meet Jim and Blair the next day and over the next several days introduced his other helpers as well. He explained to Jimmy and Blair that they would be staying at his house for a while and was a bit surprised that neither of them questioned the decision. They didn't ask about their parents' whereabouts or when they would come for them, just quietly accepted the new arrangements before starting a pillow fight.

Blair woke up to find it was still dark. The night light that Captain Joel had given them broke through the shadows. In the morning he and Jimmy were supposed to be moving in with Simon and Daryl. Blair yawned and rolled over then heard the sound that had woken him again.

"No, please," Jimmy moaned softly. "Stop. It hurts."

Blair crawled off his bed and went to stand by Jimmy's. The bigger boy had curled up into a ball with his hands over his ears. "Jimmy?" Blair asked softly.

"Too loud," Jimmy whispered.

"What's too loud?" Blair asked, instinctively putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Noise… please…" the Sentinel whimpered.

"It's okay, Jimmy," Blair comforted as he climbed up beside Jimmy and rubbed his back. "Take a deep breath and release it slowly. Naomi calls this meditating and it helps her calm down and feel better. Breathe again. Yeah, that's it." Blair continued to rub small circles on Jimmy's back as he talked. "Tell me what you hear?"

Jimmy took another deep, shuddering breath then spoke softly. "People talking and crying. Machines. All different kinds of sounds. Thumps and swishes and and… it's all too loud."

"Breathe, Jimmy," Blair replied calmly. "Just concentrate on what you can hear in this room, block everything else out, okay?"

The other boy nodded and a frown of concentration creased his brow. Finally Jimmy's tension eased and he sat up. "It's better," he said with surprise. "Now I hear the bed squeaking and the air whooshing out of the vent," Jimmy said glancing up at the ceiling. "There's a drip in the bathroom and a thumping…" he trailed off as he tried to find the source. His hand raised and it landed on Blair's chest. Jimmy's eyes widened as the sound corresponded to the beat under his hand. "It's your heart," he exclaimed in a loud whisper.

"Really?" Blair asked looking down at his chest and Jimmy's hand. "How can you hear it without a ste.. a sheth… uh, that thing the doctor uses?"

Jimmy dropped his hand and shrugged. "I don't know," he replied, trying to hide his fear.

"Too cool!" Blair said bouncing on the mattress. "What else can you hear? Can you hear the nurses in the hall talking?"

Jimmy frowned. "I don't know. Besides it's rude to easedrop. My dad said so."

Blair frowned. "Man! You are so boring," he huffed as he hopped off the bed. He turned back with his hands on his hips. "All you ever do is spout off rules your dad made up. Your dad's not here. Why not have a little fun?"

"I…" Jimmy ducked his head. "It hurt before. I don't want to," he mumbled.

Blair dropped his hands and moved slowly back toward his friend. "I'm sorry Jimmy. I don't want you to hurt."

"S'okay," Jimmy answered softly, still not looking up.

"Is the noise still hurting you?" Blair whispered.

"A little," Jimmy admitted. "It was better when you were near me."

Blair nodded decisively. "Scoot over," he said grabbing a pillow off his own bed before climbing back onto Jimmy's and making himself comfortable. "Just don't hog the covers," he ordered.

Jimmy grinned and scooted back down to lie on his side. They were both soon fast asleep.

Simon paused briefly at the door. He looked to his left, then his right to see Jim and Blair on either side watching him expectantly. _Well, here we go._ "Come on guys, let's go home." He led them through the automatic exit doors and into the sunshine. They were each carrying a duffle bag with the clothes and things they'd used at the hospital.

Simon paused again at the edge of the sidewalk wondering if he should have left the car idling at the exit instead of parking it in the lot. A hand caught onto his left one. Simon jerked his hand out of Blair's. "What the hell?"

"I'm not allowed to cross the street alone," Blair said quietly, gazing up with wide blue eyes.

Simon stared down at the man… boy. _Oh God. What am I getting myself into? They really do believe they're only six years old. Babies. Just babies._ Simon swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, Blair," he said putting a gentle hand on Blair's shoulder. "You just caught me by surprise. It's been a long time since Daryl had to hold my hand to cross the street." He held his hand out to his friend and clasped it firmly when Blair returned the gesture. Then Simon turned to Jim and held his hand out to him as well. "Come on then Jimmy, we've got places to go, things to do…" Simon grinned as Jimmy switched his bag to his other hand and took Simon's hand.

They walked hand in hand to the car, Simon's heart crumbling the entire way. He helped them open the back doors when it seemed they were too heavy for the boys and showed them how to buckle the seat belts.

"I don't have to wear a seat belt in Naomi's car," Blair protested.

"Well," Simon responded calmly, "this is my car. And everyone has to wear a seat belt. Including me."

Simon buckled his own seat belt and looked in the rear view mirror at his friends in the back seat. He sighed and started the car then pulled out of the parking lot.

Jim and Blair were silent for a few minutes, both looking out their windows. Simon knew it wouldn't last. And sure enough, a long, loud sigh from Sandburg was followed by a question.

"Is this a cop car?" Blair asked.

"Yes," Simon answered.

"Do you chase bad guys in it?"

"Sometimes," the captain replied.

"Does it have a light and sirens?" Blair continued, leaning forward as far as his seatbelt would allow trying to see into the front seat.

"Yes, it does," Simon said. "Sit back, Blair."

Blair slumped back against the seat and stretched his legs out until he could tap his toes on the seat in front of him. That being the driver's seat. "Can you turn them on?" he asked hopefully.

Simon shook his head. "Only for police business. Please stop kicking my seat, Blair."

"Okay," Blair said sighing again as he shifted slightly and turned to look out the window. "I'm bored."

Simon grinned and shot a glance at Jim through the rear view mirror, but the other man was staring out the window. Simon shook his head. "We'll be home soon. Jim? Are you all right?" he asked wondering if the Sentinel had zoned on something.

Jim faced Simon. "Yes, sir," he replied quietly.

"I hope you guys like chili," Simon said turning his attention back to the road.

"Is Daryl at your house?" Blair asked. Daryl's visit to the hospital had been a great hit with both Jim and Blair.

Simon grimaced. He and Joan had argued over this at length. She had finally won and Daryl would not be staying at his house while Jim and Blair were. He could visit during the day, but not sleep over. "I'm afraid not today. He's at his mother's house, but will come over on Saturday. I thought we could all go to the zoo."

Blair and Jimmy exchanged a confused look. "His mom doesn't live with you?" Jimmy asked hesitantly.

"No. We're divorced," Simon answered trying not to let his frustration with Joan enter his voice.

"My dad doesn't live with us," Blair piped up.

"Why not?" Jimmy asked innocently. His parents might not always get along, but at least they lived together with him and Stevie.

"I don't know," Blair shrugged. "I don't know where he is."

Simon listened curiously from the front seat thinking he might inadvertently learn a few things about his friends.

"But you get to see him, right?" Jimmy asked. "On weekends and holidays and stuff?"

Blair frowned. "No. I don't think so," he said with an unconcerned shake of his head. "I've never met him."

Jimmy's eyes widened. "You don't know your own dad?"

Blair shrugged. "My mom says family comes in all sizes. Some have moms and dads and kids, others have moms and kids and some only have dads and kids. She says it doesn't matter as long as the people in each family love each other," Blair said firmly with a decisive nod of his head.

Simon smiled softly. "She's absolutely right, Blair. Your mom's a smart lady."

"Yep," Blair replied turning to look out the window again.

Jimmy pursed his lips thoughtfully.

The rest of the ride passed in silence as all three of them pondered Naomi's wisdom.

Simon peeked into Daryl's room to check on the boys. He hadn't been privy to the conversation in which the two had decided who got the bed and who got the cot, but he wasn't really surprised by the results.

Jim lay sprawled on his stomach in his boxers, arms tucked under his pillow and legs stretched out the length of the bed. The top sheet had been kicked to the floor and sat in a pile beside the t-shirt that Jim had initially crawled into bed wearing.

Blair was on the cot they'd set up on the opposite side of Daryl's bed. All Simon could see was a tuft of dark curls poking out above the covers. Blair seemed to be curled up beneath them.

Simon grinned and backed out of the room, quietly pulling the door closed. Both boys had become more animated and open as they neared his house. Even Jim had started asking questions and responding to comments made by both Blair and Simon.

The captain sat down at his kitchen table and dragged a pad of paper over from the pile on the corner. He needed a plan of action to get him through tomorrow. _But where to start?_ It hadn't seemed like it would be too difficult to take care of Jim and Blair while they were still at the hospital, but now that they were here, Simon felt a little overwhelmed. _What first?_

_Okay, well, breakfast. Yeah, that's a good place to start. Get them cleaned up and dressed. Dressed? Well, shit. Guess we need to take a trip to the loft. Uh uh, bad idea, too many questions if they see pictures of themselves. Send someone else to the loft for clothes, etc. I'll call Joel in a bit. Okay, breakfast, dressed… then what? That will only take maybe a couple of hours. It won't be time for lunch yet._ Simon rolled his eyes. _Breathe, calm, okay. I'll just ask them what they'd like to do. Hopefully we can find something we all agree on that won't cost me and arm and a leg._

_Ah, yeah, I need to check with Jim and Blair's lawyer about getting access to their accounts. I'll need to take care of their bills and things while…_ Simon lowered his head to the table and sat there with his eyes closed for a moment. He took a deep breath and sat up. 'Talk to the lawyer,' he wrote below 'Ask the boys.'

They ended up spending the next day at home. Simon had been busy the last week. Between the office and being short handed and then visiting Jim and Blair at the hospital, he hadn't had time for much housework. After breakfast he set the boys down in front of the television with an age appropriate movie while Simon started to clean. He soon found himself with two helpers who were, to quote 'bored and wanted to help.'

Between the three of them the house was dusted, floors were swept and mopped, carpets were vacuumed and laundry and dishes were washed in record time. They even managed to get the bathrooms scrubbed. So, Simon took them all out for dinner as a treat for being so much help.

He put them to bed that night, grateful that both boys fell right to sleep.

_Now what do we do tomorrow?_

Simon opened his door the next morning surprised to see Brian Rafe standing on the porch in the most casual clothes he'd ever seen on the man. Jeans that looked brand new, a pair of leather loafers and a button down shirt, sans tie. The captain blinked, but the view didn't change. "Uh, good morning, Rafe," he said, at a loss for words.

"Morning, Captain," Brian replied with a grin. "Joel said he needed you in the office for a while and since it's my day off I thought I'd come see if you needed someone to stay with Jim and Blair."

Simon stared at Rafe still trying to reconcile the man on his porch with the detective they called GQ. "Oh," he replied suavely. "Uh, sure, come on in. Brian." He backed into the entry way to let Rafe in.

Brian stepped in and looked around. "Are they up?"

"They're getting dressed," Simon said, giving himself a mental shake. "Want some coffee?" he offered leading the way to the kitchen.

"Thanks," Brian replied. He settled into one of the kitchen chairs at Simon's invitation. "So. Any change?" Rafe asked hopefully.

Simon shook his head as he poured a cup of coffee.

Just then Blair came into the kitchen. He stumbled to a stop as he saw Rafe. "Hi," he said shyly.

"Hi Blair," Brian said with a smile.

Simon motioned for Blair to take a seat as he handed Brian the coffee cup. "You remember Detective Rafe, don't you Blair?"

Blair nodded, his damp curls bouncing.

"Well," Simon continued, "I have to go into the office for a few hours and he's going to stay here with you guys." Simon's eyes narrowed as he watched Blair glance back toward the door. "Is that okay with you?"

"Um, sure Simon," Blair answered. Jim came in at that moment and Blair turned a much more relaxed grin toward Rafe. "Hey Jimmy, Detective Rafe's gonna stay here while Simon goes to work."

Jim darted a nervous look at Simon. "Why do you have to go to work? I thought you had the week off?" he asked, his tone just shy of a whine.

Simon frowned. "I'm the captain. Sometimes things happen that only I can take care of." He moved over to Jim and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back. Maybe you can convince Rafe to make you some pancakes for breakfast. I hear he has a special recipe." Simon grinned at Brian who rolled his eyes.

"Sure guys," Brian agreed. "It's a secret Rafe family recipe, but if you promise not to tell anyone, I might be persuaded to share."

Jimmy and Blair shared a quick look before turning back to the adults. "Okay," Blair replied with a bounce. "But I want strawberry jam on mine."

Simon met Jim's still worried gaze. "Are you all right with that, Jim?"

Jim just nodded.

Banks sighed. "Okay, why don't you two set the table while I talk to Brian." He jerked his head toward the living room indicating for Rafe to follow.

Once they were alone, Simon spoke softly. "I haven't seen any signs that Jim's senses are online, but he's been… I'm not sure how to describe it without…" he sighed again. "I keep forgetting that they're only six," he tapped his temple, "up here. Blair seems to be handling the lack of his normal routine fairly well. But Jim, I think he's sort of latched onto me as a father figure," Simon admitted wearily.

Brian suppressed a smile. "He'll be okay, Captain. Blair's here and we'll figure out something to keep us all occupied." He patted Simon on the back. "Don't worry. I've had lots of practice with kids. I may have been the youngest child in my family by ten years, but that meant I had lots of nieces and nephews to help raise. We'll be fine."

Simon snorted. "Okay, okay. Let me just say good-bye and I'll be off.

Simon frowned as he opened the door. Rafe's car was sitting in the driveway but all the lights in the house were off. "Hello?" he called out. His voice echoed through the house. Simon flipped on a light and headed for the phone. "Maybe they left a message," he muttered to himself, unable to keep from thinking of the numerous possible disasters that might have befallen his two charges.

No message on the answering machine and no note to explain where they'd gone or why. "I thought you said you had experience babysitting Rafe!" Simon growled out loud. "If you did, you'd know better than to leave the house with out leaving a note."

Simon raised his arms in frustration, dropping both hands to rest on top of his head as he scanned the living area again for any sign of where they might be. He lowered his arms suddenly and grabbed his cell phone. "Maybe he called my cell and left a message."

Just as he started to dial, the front door opened and the three missing persons tumbled in.

"Just where the… heck have you been?" Simon yelled, pausing only long enough to tame down his language. "I've been worried sick!"

Blair and Jim stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the floor.

Rafe frowned. "We left a note in case you got back before us."

"Where?" Simon asked spreading his arms sarcastically.

"On the phone pad in the kitchen," Rafe replied. "That's where you had left a grocery list and an old note for Daryl. We just assumed…"

Simon let his head drop back as he stared at the ceiling, relief warring with self-castigation. "I'm sorry, you're right. I just didn't expect you guys to figure that out." He lowered his chin. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Jim and Blair glanced up at Simon.

"We're not in trouble?" Jim asked.

"No son," Simon said shaking his head. "I'm the one in trouble here. Will you guys forgive me?"

Rafe grinned conspiratorially dropping an arm around each of the boy's shoulders. "What do you say guys? Think we can let him off the hook?"

Blair nibbled his lower lip for a second. "Okay," he said softly, "but only if you don't do it again. Naomi says it's not nice to yell at people."

"Jim?" Rafe prodded.

"Well," Jim said, drawing the word out. "Okay, I suppose…"

"Jim?" Simon asked, wondering what was bothering the taller man.

Jimmy shrugged. "Maybe Captain Simon should do something to show he really is sorry." The boy kept his gaze leveled at the floor.

Rafe frowned. "Like what, Jimmy?"

Jim glanced at Blair who grinned and bounced as he waited for his friend to finish. "Maybe he should buyusallicecream," he said in a rush.

Simon and Rafe stared at Jim for a moment then shifted their gaze to each other briefly before laughing out loud. Jim looked up with a shy grin on his face while Blair giggled beside him.

After a few moments, Simon and Rafe managed to get themselves under control. Simon smiled at the boys. "I think you are absolutely right Jim. But, only after you two tell me what you've been doing all day and after we have supper. Okay?"

"Okay!" Jim and Blair replied eagerly.

The next several days went by uneventfully. Simon took the boys grocery shopping with him using a list purloined from Sandburg's Sentinel notes so that they could avoid Jim's sensitivities. Even though Simon had yet to see a sign of heightened senses, he couldn't help but be cautious. Without Sandburg's knowledge of all things Sentinel and his ability as a Guide, Simon wasn't sure what would happen if Jim zoned or had an allergic reaction to something. It wasn't an experience he wanted to go through.

Simon Banks loved to swim. All through high school and college people had suggested he play basketball because of his height, or football because of his size, but Simon loved swimming. Rossburg High didn't have a swim team, so Simon joined the debate team, the chess club and ran for student council. During the summer he tried out for and made the YMCA local swim team and won medals in the backstroke and butterfly. In college Simon also made the swim team earning medals in the 200 meter butterfly four years running.

Since he'd become captain, Simon's swim time had dwindled to a few hours every week at a gym close to the station. He usually went during his lunch break. If asked, he would have said that only Rhonda and Joel knew of his lunch time activity. He would have been wrong.

"All right guys," Simon warned, "remember to stay in the shallow end. I'm going to do a few laps." He looked at Jim and Blair then glanced at the life guard. He turned back to the boys. "You're sure you know how to swim?" Simon asked with a frown.

Jim nodded with a frown of his own.

"Oh yeah!" Blair replied. "Naomi taught me when we were in Venice, in case I ever fell into the canal."

"Okay," Simon replied hesitantly. "Put your towels and stuff on a chair while I talk to the life guard." He watched them do as he said then headed over to the life guard chair to let the man know what to expect from his wards.

"Come on, Jimmy," Blair encouraged. "Let's go."

Jim shook his head, wrinkling his nose. "No. It smells funny."

Blair sighed. "Fine. You stay here. I'm going in." He tugged his t-shirt off over his head and toed off his shoes dropping them all in a pile on the floor beside the chair. Blair moved quickly to the edge of the pool, remembering not to run and then jumped in cannonball style.

Simon turned to see the end of Blair's splash and held his breath until the younger man broke the surface. Blair shook his head sending water and his dark curls in all direction. Simon exhaled with relief, but couldn't help but smile at the grin on Blair's face. The captain looked over at Jim and saw he was still standing beside the chairs.

He walked back over to Jim. "Hey, kiddo, you going to go in?"

Jim just stared at the water mumbling something so softly that Simon couldn't hear it until he got closer.

"No. He's not dead. Don't do this Chief. Oh God no," Jim whispered, anguish clear on his face and in his voice.

Simon inhaled sharply as he made out what Jim was saying. He grabbed Jim by the arm. "Jim!" he said softly, but firmly. "Blair's fine. Everything's okay. See? He's right there. Blair's alive."

Jim frowned and turned his attention to the pool. He tilted his head and Simon sighed with relief to see that sign of concentration. It was short lived relief though for Jim's face suddenly went slack as he slipped into a zone.

"Damn it Jim!" Simon cursed under his breath. "Don't do this to me." He pinched the Sentinel's arm and gave him a little shake as he spoke trying to reassure Jim that everything was fine. After a few moments, Simon had to admit that he wasn't getting through. He took Jim by the shoulders and maneuvered him into the closest chair then went to the edge of the pool to get Blair.

"Blair," he called. "I need your help with something, please."

"Ah, Simon," Blair whined, "I want to stay. We were playing," he said indicating a couple of preteens in the shallow end.

Simon nodded. "I'm sorry. But Jim… It's really important Blair."

Blair's shoulders slumped. "Okay," he said slowly walking across the shallow end of the pool dragging his arms through the water. He climbed up the ladder and shuffled over to Simon squeezing the water out of his hair as he went. "What do you want?" he asked a bit sullenly.

"Jim needs your help," Simon answered putting a hand on Blair's shoulder and steering him toward Jim.

"With what? He didn't want to swim."

"He's, uh," Simon didn't get to finish because as soon as Blair caught a glimpse of Jim's face he hurried the rest of the way to his friend.

"Jimmy? Jim. What's wrong? Jimmy? Wake up Jimmy," Blair urged anxiously. He grabbed Jim's forearm and shook him. "Come on, buddy."

Jim blinked and slowly focused on his partner. "Chief?" he whispered hoarsely.

"Hey Jimmy," Blair said with a smile. "What happened? You were, like, gone, man."

"Blair?" Jim asked frowning. He looked up at Simon. "Captain Simon? What?"

Simon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's okay guys. Let's pack up and go home and I'll explain everything, all right?"

Jim and Blair nodded, confused but willing to accept Simon's suggestion.

Simon turned the beer bottle slowly between his fingers. Rhonda had come over to stay with Jim and Blair while he and Joel went out for a while. Simon needed to talk, but he didn't want to leave his Sentinel and Guide for too long.

"I really thought Jim remembered," Simon said for the fourth time.

Joel nodded. His friend wasn't drunk. Simon hadn't even finished his first beer yet.

"He called Blair Chief. I just knew… but then… Damn. Damn," he said leaning his elbows on the table and resting his forehead against the bottle in his hand.

"But that's got to be a good sign Simon," Joel encouraged. "The memories are there, right? It'll come back. We just have to give them some time."

"Yeah. Right. Time." Simon met Joel's gaze. "We just have to give them some time."

**Two weeks later**

Simon parked the car and turned to look at his two passengers. He was already giving second thoughts to this field trip. "Okay boys," he said, one part of his brain making note of how easily he'd slipped into thinking of these two grown men as children. "I want to lay down a few rules before we go in."

Jim and Blair nodded solemnly.

"First, don't run off. You need to stay within sight of me at all times, okay?"

More nods.

Simon sighed. "And if you do get separated for some reason, you go up to one of the shops and ask an employee to have me paged. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Jimmy replied.

"Yes, Simon," Blair answered, glancing eagerly out the window. "Can we go in now?"

"All right," Simon said with a smile. He led his friends up to the ticket booth and paid for their entry to the zoo. Once inside, they all three examined the park map.

Blair scanned it quickly then held his map up to Simon pointing out a location with his finger as he spoke. "I want to see the tigers. Here's their habi… hab… habtat. Can we go? Please?"

Simon gazed at his own map. The tiger habitat was clear in the back of the park. "We'll see them, Blair, but why don't we check out some of the closer exhibits first?" He looked at Jim. "Anything in particular you want to see, Jim?"

Jimmy nodded. "The wolves."

"Okay," Simon said with a sad smile. "It looks like we have two main paths leading back to those exhibits. Which way do you two want to go?"

Jim and Blair huddled over their maps talking softly to each other for a few minutes. Finally, Jim looked up at Simon. "Is there anything you want to see, Captain?"

Simon grinned at the boys. "I've always been rather partial to the alligators."

The boys turned to look at each other with wide eyes. "Alligators," they said in unison, then ducked their heads to check the maps again.

"Okay, here's what we'll do," Jimmy announced, tracing out the route as he explained. "We'll take the road to the right. We can see the monkey house and alligator pond. Then the bears and some deer," he shrugged as if to indicate that since they were passing by, they might as well see the boring herbivores. "Right after that is the wolf pack and other big cats, including the tigers." He looked up from the map. "Then we can come back down the other path and see whatever we want on that side. Okay?"

"Sounds like a plan to me, Jim," Simon grinned. "What do you think, Blair?"

The younger man nodded vigorously. "Can we go now?"

"Okay, okay," Simon chuckled as he nodded. Blair took off at a jog, but he stopped before he was too far away and turned to wait impatiently for the others to catch up.

Jimmy shook his head. "He's acting like Stevie," he muttered softly. "And _he's_ only three."

Simon choked down a laugh. He put a hand on Jim's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

Joel met them at the door to Simon's house at the end of the day. Simon smiled gratefully at his friend. He definitely needed some relief after riding herd on the two grown six year olds all day at the zoo.

"Captain Joel!" Blair exclaimed as he ran up the sidewalk and threw his arms around the surprised man for a hug. "Guess what we did? We went to the zoo and saw the tigers and lions and bears and monkeys and the wolves and…"

Joel did a slight double take then grinned down at Blair who had yet to take a breath. Simon opened the front door and shared a look with Joel that said 'it's been like this ALL day.' Joel clapped a sympathetic hand on Simon's back and followed the trio inside.

Blair dragged Joel over to the couch while Jim sat down in one of the other chairs. Blair continued to rattle on.

"And Simon wanted to see the alligators…"

"I'm going to start dinner," Simon proclaimed as he headed for the kitchen leaving Joel in charge.

Joel watched Blair describing the day at the zoo for a moment then glanced at Jim.

"I just wanted to see the wolves," Jim said softly. "There was this cub in the back. No one else could see him, but I did…"

"And I asked the zoo keeper why the lions wouldn't roar…" Blair continued.

"I wanted to stay and see if it would come out, but Blair wanted to go see the tigers," Jim added, not even trying to compete with Blair's exuberant explanation. "He kept pulling on Captain Simon's sleeve until we finally had to go."

Joel stifled a chuckle.

"And we got to see the alligators get fed," Blair said bouncing on the couch. "Right Jimmy?" he looked at his friend for confirmation. "It was so cool!"

Jim nodded. "They fed them dead chickens. The whole thing!" he added.

"It sounds like you two had a lot of fun," Joel commented, finally able to get in a word edgewise.

Two head bobbed up and down enthusiastically.

Then Blair grabbed the bag beside him. "You want to see what I got?" he asked as he reached into the bag.

"Me too?" Jimmy said jumping up and moving over to paw through the bag as well.

"Okay," Joel grinned.

Blair stopped suddenly and looked Joel in the eye. "Simon bought them for us," he said seriously.

"That was very nice of him," Joel said equally serious.

Jim nodded and pulled out a cardboard tube. He opened it and unrolled the poster while Blair handed Joel a box.

"It's bookends shaped like a black jaguar," Blair said with a smile. "Simon said I can use them to keep my books from falling over.

Joel dutifully examined the bookends, pretending to weigh them in each hand before giving them back to Blair. "I think they're great Blair, should do the job very well."

Blair grinned and nodded.

"See?" Jimmy said holding the poster open for Joel to see. "It's a wolf pack. I'm gonna put it on my wall. Captain Simon said he would help me find a frame for it."

"That's beautiful Jimmy," Joel said sincerely. "Did you two pick them out?"

"Uh huh," Blair answered as he carefully closed the box with the bookends in it. "We got one for Simon too."

"Oh? What did you get?"

"Well," Jimmy said, "we thought he might want something with an alligator on it, 'cause he said he likes alligators, but Blair said he needed something with a grizzly bear on it."

Blair nodded solemnly and dug into the bag one more time. "He doesn't know what we got yet, we asked could we have money to buy him something and he gave us some."

Joel's lips twitched, but he managed to control his urge to chuckle aloud.

"You want to see?" Jim whispered as he looked over his shoulder toward the kitchen.

"Sure thing," Joel answered.

"I hope he likes it," Blair said opening a long flat box to reveal a silk tie with a grizzly bear on it. It was standing on its rear legs with its mouth opened roaring a challenge. The colors were different rich shades of brown with a little dark green for the trees. The tie was gorgeous.

"Oh, I can guarantee he'll love it," Joel assured with a smile. "Why don't you put it up and give it to him after dinner?"

The boys nodded. Blair put the tie back in the bag.

"Dinner's almost ready," Simon called from the other room. "Go wash up."

Jim and Blair grabbed their prizes and raced up the stairs.

"No running in the house!" Simon roared from the kitchen.

Giggles drifted down the stairs, followed by slower footsteps as they walked down the hall.

Joel laughed then sobered and ran his hands over his face. God he missed those two.

After dinner Jim and Blair gave Simon the tie, which he really did love. He let them watch a little television and then sent them to get ready for bed.

"Will you come read us a story?" Blair asked hopefully.

Simon smiled. "Once you get changed and have brushed your teeth."

Blair nodded and scampered up the stairs after Jim.

Simon sighed and felt his control weaken as he met Joel's eyes.

"No signs of improvement at all?" Joel asked.

"No." Simon rubbed a hand over the top of his head. "It's… God, Joel this is killing me. I mean, they're great. They stay out of trouble and listen to what I tell them, but…" he trailed off.

Joel sat forward leaning his elbows on his knees. "You told the doctor about Jim's flashback, right? Did the doctor say any thing?"

"He didn't really know if it was significant or not, Joel. All he could do was offer an educated guess that it might be a sign of improvement. But there hasn't been anything else that I know of." Simon shook his head. "The doctors didn't have a clue what that combination of chemicals could do, let alone if the affects would be permanent." Simon paused then continued with an air of defeat. "I wonder if it's time to notify Ms. Sandburg and Mr. Ellison?"

"I thought you wanted to avoid that as long as possible?"

"Hmph! I do, but they are their blood relatives. Do I have the right to make these decisions for them over a long term?" Simon asked sadly.

"Don't they both have you listed as having power of attorney in case of emergency?" Joel asked.

"Yeah."

"Do they have their parents listed?"

Simon shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Well then," Joel said sitting back, "there's your answer. Jim and Blair trusted you to make these decisions. Not their parents. Even if you contact them, you still have the final responsibility."

"I suppose so. I just wish I knew how long I should keep hoping for them to get back to normal. If I knew they weren't going to recover, at least then we could move on."

Joel nodded. "I know what you mean, Simon. But can we set a dead line? If they haven't improved in one month, then we know they won't? What if it just takes six weeks? Or six months?"

Simon stood up and started to pace. "I know, I know. I just wish…"

"Simon!" Blair shouted from upstairs. "We're ready for our story."

Simon stopped. "Be right there," he replied then turned back to Joel. "Thanks for coming over tonight."

"I can wait until you're done if you want to talk some more, Simon. You know we are all here for you, and Jim and Blair."

Simon smiled and nodded. "Thanks. I'll be down shortly."

Joel watched his friend climb the stairs. He heard a giant roar followed by delighted shrieks of laughter and couldn't help but laugh himself. It didn't last long though as his throat thickened with unshed tears.

Simon opened the trunk, pulled out a bag and handed it to Jim. "Help me take these inside then you can play in the backyard while I make dinner."

"Okay sir," Jim said nudging Blair with his elbow. "Take this one it's lighter. I'll get the next one."

Blair rolled his eyes but took the bag. Simon chuckled and gave Jim another bag then grabbed the last one himself.

The boys waited at the door for Simon and the keys.

Jim turned to look down the street as Simon reached them. He tilted his head and frowned. "What's that noise?" he asked Simon.

"What noise?" Simon asked as he opened the door.

"Sounded like 'shuk chuk,'" he demonstrated watching an approaching car with extreme interest. "It came from that car," Jim said pointing at a black sedan that started to slow as its passenger window rolled down.

Simon turned to look at the car. "Inside! Now!" he shouted. He dropped the grocery bag as he spun. He shoved both men toward the door just as gunfire erupted from the sedan. Bullets sprayed over their heads as Simon tackled his friends from behind taking them all to the floor.

"Move! Hurry!" he urged crawling and trying to push the younger men forward at the same time. Gun fire continued to bounce off the front of the house shattering windows and allowing the taunting yells from the perpetrators to be heard.

"I'll get you Banks! Die pig!" a voice yelled from outside.

Simon scrambled to his knees and urged Jim and Blair through the living room into the kitchen. "Stay low," he ordered ushering them into the far corner of the kitchen. Simon turned to sit with his back against the wall. He winced as he leaned forward to reach for the gun in the holster at the small of his back.

"Simon!" Blair exclaimed. "You're bleeding." The younger man scrabbled across the floor to grab the dish towel from the counter.

Simon swallowed hard and blinked to clear his suddenly blurry vision. "It's okay," he assured, his voice sounding much weaker than he wanted it too. "Call 911 and tell them what's happening." He stopped and shook his head but that only made him dizzy. "Stay low."

Jim took the dish towel from Blair and pressed it to the wound in Simon's side. "He's losing blood fast, Chief," Simon heard him say just before he blacked out.

**Cascade General Hospital**

Familiar voices teased his hearing. Simon let them wash over him as he regained consciousness and then decided that maybe, if he didn't wake up, it would allow him to maintain the fantasy that everything was back to normal.

"I know you're awake, Simon."

"Let the man rest Jim. He's got to be tired after dealing with you for so long."

"Me? What about you? I can't even imagine what kind of questions you must have asked at that age."

"Curiosity should be encouraged in children Jim. It's the way we learn."

"Yeah, but you know what they say…"

"Don't. Besides, you're the one with the cat, not me."

"True, but…"

"Boys!" Simon interrupted with a yell that only reached one quarter his normal volume. "Enough. I'm trying to sleep."

"Boys?" Blair asked grinning broadly as Simon opened his eyes.

"If the name fits," he replied weakly. "Should I assume you remember…"

"Everything," Jim interrupted with a wry grin.

Simon frowned slightly. "Even…"

Blair nodded. "Yeah, even the last few weeks. It's kind of weird."

"So what else is new?" Simon asked.

"We caught Jefferson," Jim stated. "Do you remember the Madison case, about four years ago?"

"Madison? Vaguely," Simon yawned.

"It doesn't matter, sir. He's off the street for good," Jim said as Simon sighed and closed his eyes.

Jim and Blair exchanged a look and stood to leave.

"We'll be back later, Simon," Jim said softly as they headed for the door.

"Welcome back, guys," Simon murmured with heartfelt relief.

The partners stopped and faced their friend with matching smiles.

"Thank you, Simon," Blair replied softly.

"For everything," Jim added.

"Yeah," Blair said. "You're a great dad." Jim rolled his eyes at Blair's grin.

As they left Simon allowed a small, fond smile to grace his lips.

The end

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